


Wild West Ghosts

by Chloria



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29666358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloria/pseuds/Chloria
Summary: A trip to an old mining town uncovers a secret about Danny's heritage He's the heir of a gun toting hero! Now Fast shootin' Fenton's fiancée is stirring, and she'll do anything to get her Daniel back...
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

Wild West Meets Amity's Best!

"If she makes one more comment about the sun drying out her hair, I'm gonna fix the problem by shaving her bald." Danny Fenton chuckled nervously at the homicidal look on his best friend's face, fixed pointedly on the pretty Latina girl a few seats ahead of them. Sarah- whose parents had insisted she go along, especially after Vlad paid-giggled at the thought of a bald Paulina.

"Easy, Sam." The blue eyed boy coaxed. "This trip is supposed to be fun, remember? A break from all the ghost hunting and fighting. Isn't that what we agreed?"

"I guess…" Sam sighed heavily. Then she smiled wryly. "Though I still think it's ironic that we're going to a ghost town to get away from ghosts."

"Mom already checked the place out weeks ago." Danny rolled his eyes. "It's clean, Sam; Not a ghost in sight. Or even out of sight, for that matter."

"That doesn't mean anything." Sam smirked. "I mean, ghosts can awaken at any time, right? And let's face it, Danny, you're a paranormal magnet." Danny blushed slightly, unable to deny the truth in her statement.

"And who's fault is that?" he countered instead with a pointed look.

"I'm never gonna be able to apologize enough for that to satisfy you, am I?" Sam sulked, raising her eyebrow.

"What do you think?" Danny grinned back.

Almost a year earlier, Sam had convinced Danny to explore a new experiment his parents were working on, unwittingly causing the accident that changed Danny's life forever by endowing him with supernatural ghost powers and the alias of Danny Phantom, Amity Park's most controversial superhero.

Danny had taken up the job of fighting of evil ghosts and the occasional obsessive ghost hunter and human crooks with his newfound abilities, at first in secret but then thrust into the public eye by one of his enemies.

Most of the adult population of Amity was still getting used to the idea of Danny as a hero, but the children and pretty much every teenager had accepted him readily into the role, idolizing everything about his ghost half while criticizing his human one.

Only six people knew that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were one in the same. The first were Danny's two best friends Sam and Tucker, who were both present when Danny's accident took place.

After that was Danny's sister Jazz, who found out on her own and covered for her brother from the shadows until a trip into the future brought out a darker side of Danny that forced her forward to help her brother. Then there was Vlad Masters, Danny's archrival and fellow half ghost and Dani Phantom, Danny's twelve year old female clone. Then there was Sarah, his younger half sister.

As he thought about this, Danny ran a hand through his raven locks, which were in dire need of a haircut he didn't have time for. Then again, between school, family, friends and random ghost attacks, the half ghost considered himself lucky if he got time to sleep…

Well, at least this trip can be a sort of vacation for me, I guess. Danny thought to himself. No ghosts for a whole week!

"Anyways, do you think Tucker's doing okay?" he asked Sam, resting his chin on the back of the seat that separated them.

"With Valerie as his partner?" Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "They'll be sending him back home in an ashtray, Danny."

"Valerie's not that bad." Danny defended his other friend.

Well, friend when he was in his human form, at any rate. Valerie was one of Phantom's most dangerous adversaries, with an arsenal of weapons designed with the sole intent of capturing or destroying ghosts, and the superb physical capabilities only a ninth degree black belt could possess.

"Not to Fenton, maybe." Sam rolled her eyes, knowing all too well what Danny was thinking about. "She was already laying down the 'ground rules' with Tucker when we left. Rules there is no chance he'll ever be able to follow by the way…"

Danny laughed slightly at that, not even bothering to deny that Tucker was less… ethical than most girls were comfortable with. That combined with Valerie's quick temper, impressive combat skills and weapons meant that the fate Sam predicted for the Tech geek was a very likely possibility.

"Still," Danny shook his head, amusement still written on his face. "it was pretty brave of him to volunteer to go to Vlad's castle like that. I mean, he didn't have to."

"But someone did, Danny." Sam pointed out. "You said yourself that it was weird how Vlad suddenly funded a trip like that, and there was no way we were gonna let you within five miles of that psychopath if we could help it."

"Thank goodness he agreed with Mom & Dad that I need some time outside. You don't really think they'll have us sleeping in tents, do you?" Sarah asked.

"Hence the reason Tucker and Jazz went on the field trip to Vlad's and you come along to baby-sit me on the alternate field trip to some barren little western town in the middle of nowhere." Danny finished for Sam with a pointed look. Sam smiled back guiltily.

"No, they won't have us sleeping in tents. We told them that, remember? And your mother already checked the place out."

Turning back to Danny, she meekly said, "Well, we never used those words exactly. But that was the general idea."

"You thought I wouldn't notice?" Danny asked, bemused.

"You never notice other things…" Sam muttered dryly.

"What?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing!" Sam smiled brightly before turning away, a clear sign that the conversation was over.

She didn't want to get into talking with her friend of nearly ten years about the long time crush she had on him, especially on a bus to the middle of nowhere. If (And this was a BIG if…) she ever said anything to Danny about her more-than-platonic feelings for him, she'd want the setting to be a little more personal than that.

"Okay, kids," Mr. Lancer said as the bus rolled to a stop. "We've reached the mining town now. Please take your things and exit from the bus single file, so we can meet up with the owner and tour guide."

"This better not get my new shoes dirty…" Star griped as she and everyone else exited the bus to the dry earth outside. Sam cringed a little at the heat, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun and moving to stand behind Dash and Kwan to further block the blazing inferno.

"Why did you wear new shoes, anyhow?" Sarah asked Star, who ignored her. Sarah pulled her boater hat down a little further, and went back to stand with Danny and Sam.

"I knew I should've brought my veil…" Sam grumbled darkly to Danny, who laughed a little at the face she was making.

"Would tanning really be such an awful fate, Sam?" he teased, also blocking the sun with his hand. Squinting off in the distance, he read the ancient sign in front of them. "Harmony, huh?"

"Talk about cheesy…" Sam said dryly, rolling her eyes.

"Could be worse." Danny reminded her, sounding bemused. The goth grinned back.

"Ah, yes." she giggled. "How could I forget…? Inviso-Bill."

Danny glared at her sourly, not improving her sudden giggle fit.

"Attention, please!" Mr. Lancer shouted into a megaphone to silence the teens. "We need you to form two single file lines, one for the boys and one for the girls." Alarmed, Danny and Sam exchanged curious glances at that.

"Why?" Danny asked loudly, frowning at the teacher.

"Well, we can't have you all changing in the same place now, can we?" an older man decked out like a sheriff asked as he came up to stand beside Mr. Lancer looking amused at the reaction. Next to him was a red-headed girl around their age, dressed in a baby blue gown with white undercoats. What drew Danny's attention, though, was the way Sam gasped loudly when she saw them.

"Changing?" Paulina repeated, "Changing into what?"

"Harmony is a full time cosplay joint." the girl replied, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes impatiently as she announced this in a droll tone. "Meaning clothes, cell phones and electronics get checked here and picked up when you leave. Everything here is exactly like it was in the late eighteen hundreds, so no modern tech whatsoever."

"It helps with the learning experience if you undergo first hand what life was like for the people who lived on these lands. Deodorant and other toiletries excluded." the 'sheriff' continued with a warm smile, apparently oblivious to the moaning this new information earned from the kids.

"I'll leave those in saloon and you can pick them up after dinner. The showers and out houses are a little outside of town." He pointed to the right.

"No cell phones?" Star repeated, looking as if someone had just died right in front of her.

"No video games?" Dash asked, scowling angrily.

"No Abyss Rhodamine Sleeveless Half-Tops?" Paulina wailed, clutching at her face in sheer agony.

"Jeeze…" Danny said, blinking a few times. "Talk about being over dramatic, right Sam?"

"I don't believe it!" Sam gasped, apparently not even hearing Danny as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"…On second thought, never mind."

"Jane?" Sam said, staring at the girl with wide eyes before turning to the man next to her. "Uncle Henry?" The two looked confused for a second before recognition lit in the girl's eyes.

"Sam?" Jane said, sounding faintly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing…" Sam said wryly as she shook her head. "You guys never said that this was the town you worked in!"

"You never asked now, didja, Sam?" Henry reminded the girl with a warm laugh as he gave her a one-arm hug.

"Wait," Danny said as he joined his best friend, Sarah following him. "You guys know each other?" Realizing what Sam had just said, the ghost boy's eyes widened on the man in the sheriff garb. "UNCLE Henry? You mean—!"

"We're related?" Sam flashed her friend a grin. "Yep. They're not really my cousin and uncle, though, but the whole thing's too complicated, so we just simplify it a little…"

"Who's this?" Jane asked Sam as her eyes flicked over Danny, a slight smile touching her face.

"My friend Danny." Sam answered. "We've known each other since first grade."

"Nice to meet you." Danny said, holding out his hand to shake with Jane. "I'm—!"

"—Not important!" Dash finished for him, shoving the smaller boy out of the way to loom over Jane with a flirty smile. "So, I bet a girl like you really likes the city guys, huh?"

"Dash!" Sam snapped, scowling at the football player.

"Actually," Jane said as if Sam hadn't spoken. "I do like the city guys…" Sam gaped openly at Jane as she stepped forward, putting her gloved hand against Dash's cheek, not noticing the way her gothic cousin's face darkening into an ugly scowl of disgust.

"Oh, I don't believe-!" Sam started, but then stopped short as Jane suddenly slapped Dash as hard as she could.

"…But I can't say I'm that fond of the city jerks." Jane finished before heading over to Danny, who looked faintly surprised at Jane's actions. Henry on the other hand, merely sighed and looked heavenward in exasperation. "You were saying?" Blinking, Danny laughed warmly and ran a hand through his hair before giving Jane a teasing smile.

"Is that how you handle all the quarterbacks you talk to?" He asked.

"Only the ones I really don't like." Jane responded with a secretive smile.

"Jane…" Henry warned, giving his daughter a pointed look, which she beamed broadly at.

"Oh yeah." Danny laughed as he watched the interaction. "You're related to Sam, alright." As Sam looked between her laughing cousin and best friend, she couldn't stop the gnawing jealousy in the pit of her stomach, and found herself stepping forward and clearing her throat.

"So!" She said loudly, grinning widely. "We've gotta change, right?"

"That's right." Henry confirmed, glancing at Sam curiously. "Boys follow me, girls go with Jane. We already have outfits for you guys to pick from in almost every size, so just write down your measurements and give us the papers and we'll give you your outfits. If you don't know them, we've got measuring tape in the changing rooms. Any questions?"

"When do we eat?" Kwan asked.

"We do eat here, right?" Star asked doubtfully, glancing at the desert around them.

"Of course." Henry laughed, "Dinner's in the Saloon at seven. You'll be touring until then. Any more questions? No? In that case, if you'll just follow me…"

Sam watched Danny until he entered the small building the boys were changing in before she followed her cousin to where the girls were supposed to be going. As she passed the sign to enter the town, Sam felt a sharp cold, chill run through her body, like a bad premonition. Shaking it off, she picked up her pace a little more.

What am I thinking? She wondered. It's just nerves… I'm sure everything gonna be okay… I mean, what could happen in a town that's miles away from any ghosts…?

"Whoa…"

That was the only response Danny could think of as he gaped at himself in the antique full-lengthed mirror in front of him, his boots clunking heavily as he turned this way and that to examine himself.

Ironically enough, the outfit was all black and white. A white shirt buttoned underneath a black vest, coupled with a pair of faded black jeans. A black cowboy hat was hanging over his back by a white cord with black beads since Danny didn't like the feel of it on his head, and black boots without spurs completed the boy's western transformation. Surprisingly, everything fit perfectly, as if it was made for Danny specifically. Even the boots were just the right size for him.

Remembering how Henry had mentioned that these clothes had been worn in the old days by men who lived and worked on building this land, Danny went over to the tag that had been attached to the bag the outfit had been in, which had the measurements and initials of the original owner.

Scanning the tag, Danny found his suspicions confirmed; the measurements of the outfit were exactly the same as his. What really shook him up, though, were the three letters in the initials box.

DJF

Creepy… Danny thought, making a face as he released the tag, considering that his full name was Daniel James Fenton. Maybe Sam playing some kind of trick on me, trying to spook me out… her family works here, after all. Danny knew that his two best friends (And Jazz) were the only people in school who knew his full name.

He doubted that, though. Sam wasn't like Tucker; she wouldn't go out of her way to pull elaborate pranks like this…

Besides, she didn't even know her family worked here until just now. It was just a coincidence was all, it had to be.

Sighing, Danny left the room, clumsily at first being unused to the weight of his new footwear, but he quickly adapted to the point where someone had to strain to hear his footfall. Shaking off a strange feeling of déjà vu, Danny joined Mr. Lancer and Henry, who both glanced up as Danny entered, their eyes widening in shock.

"Well, kid," Henry laughed, shaking his head. "gotta say, I'm impressed. Most kids your age don't get how to wear this kind of outfit on their first time in them."

"What's so hard about it?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Never mind." Henry chuckled. "You're the first one done, though,"

"Goody…" Danny said dryly, crossing his arms. Henry frowned at him for a moment, studying the boy. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen him somewhere before…

He must've been there last time I went to visit Pamela. Henry decided, turning away to finish putting away the possessions the teens had brought with them.

"Now Danny." he heard Mr. Lancer lecture the boy with a rather severe frown. "I trust there won't be any more of your famous 'accidents' during this trip? Most of these artifacts date back as far as the late 1800s, and almost all of them are irreplaceable historical artifacts."

"Accidents?" Henry repeated when he turned back to the two, raising an eyebrow skeptically at the now blushing boy.

"That's right." Mr. Lancer said dryly, giving Danny a pointed glare. "Danny here is quite accident-prone. He's committed every crime in the book from defacing school property to false fire alarms." Danny blushed vividly at the subtle accusation, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot as he studied the toes of his cowboy boots. Feeling a little sorry for the boy, Henry cleared his throat loudly.

"Well, everything here is fully insured." he said to the teacher. "We've had plenty of kids break stuff before, so we're used to making repairs."

"Be that as it may, Mr. Viper," Mr. Lancer sighed. "It's a fate I'd much rather avoid." Shaking his head, Henry chucked before his eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" He said, turning back to Danny and grabbing a spare hat that was sitting upside down on the counter. Holding it out to the boy, he grinned as he answered his questioning look. "It gives you a job to do while you're in Harmony. There's at least two people for each job, and your job determines who your roommate is. It's completely luck of the draw, so no complaints and no trading. Get it?"

"Got it." Danny sighed, reaching into the hat. Taking a slip, he withdrew it and opened it, blinking at his 'job.' "Gunslinger?"

"Really?" Henry said, raising an eyebrow as he took the slip himself to read it. "Well, that's interesting. There's only two gunslingers in town at a time, and I've never had the first kid out draw one…"

"You're not really going to give my students weapons, are you?" Mr. Lancer asked with a disapproving frown. "Mr. Viper-!"

"Relax, Lancer." Henry laughed warmly. "They're fake guns with fake bullets that have blood pellets in the tips. Other than that though, they're complete replicas of the guns used in the 1800s, meaning that they're more inaccurate than guns today, so the chances of the kids actually hitting each other with 'em are pretty slim."

Opening a box under the counter, Henry dug around a bit to look for something in Danny's size before he withdrew a black leather holster with a silver oval shaped buckle, handing it to the teen.

Studying the design on the buckle, Danny's eyes widened slightly when he saw the initials DF carved into the center, flipping the tag to read the initials DJF yet again. The boy made a face.

Figures. He thought dryly as he studied the buckle again. His eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed that the 'F' on the belt was stylized the exact same way his father, grandfather and great-grandfather on his dad's side of the family had designed the Fenton logo. Okay, now it's just getting creepy…

"AHHH!" Danny jumped slightly and turned at the loud scream that drew him from his thoughts.

"Who was that?" Mr. Lancer asked, alarmed.

"Mikey." Danny answered automatically.

It's a little sad that I've had to save my classmates so many times, I can tell who's who by their screams alone… Danny mused to himself.

"SNAAAAAAKE!" Mikey wailed loudly, followed by loud crashing noises. Sighing loudly, Henry started towards the room the boy was dressing in.

"I'd better take care of this…" he said wryly. Danny shook his head incredulously as he watched the man go, one thought running through his mind…

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

Jane giggled slightly at the horrified look on her cousin's face as she looked at herself in the mirror, dressed in full petticoats and frills. Sarah was struggling with hers. Jane helped her out a bit.

"Come on, Sam." she teased. "You don't look half bad in a good, old-fashion Victorian gown." Sam glowered at the girl sullenly.

"Oh shut up." she growled, turning back to her reflection with a sigh.

Well, at least it is black… she thought grimly, pulling at the high collar of the dress that her parents would kill to get her into (In a brighter color, at any rate) for more than an hour. Sarah's dress was dark blue. They both had bone white button-up high-heeled boots.

"So Sam." Jane said casually. "That friend of yours, Danny? Does he have a girlfriend?"

Sam hands stopped for a second and she glanced at her cousin's reflection in the mirror.

"No." she answered honestly. "Why?"

"No reason." Jane said quickly. "It's just… well; he's kind of cute and all…" Sam frowned a little, unsure of how to respond to that. She liked Jane, she really did. But Danny…

"Actually." Sam found herself blurting out. "Danny and I have been considering going steady recently." The goth cringed as soon as the words left her mouth.

StupidstupidstupidstupidstupidSTUPID! she scolded herself soundly, wishing she could take those words back. Where's Desiree when you actually NEED her?

"Really?" Jane asked, looking faintly surprised and disappointed at the same time. "Oh, well… Congratulations, I guess. You two will look cute together."

"Thanks." Sam said, feeling guilty for lying to her cousin. Though technically, it wasn't a lie. She at least wanted to go steady with Danny… Heck anything resembling a date would've had the girl over the moon in joy, but Danny had his eyes on other girls.

Isn't that life? she thought wryly. Brushing the thought away, the girl turned back to Jane as the redhead handed her a slip of paper. Taking it, Sam raised an eyebrow at the writing on it.

"Banker's daughter?" she read off, giving her cousin a skeptical look. Jane grinned back. Sarah took and read hers. It was the same.

"It's pretty much the cushy position." the girl explained. "You don't really have to do anything but sit around when there's a ribbon cutting ceremony and look good. As far as the dress goes, you can say you're mourning your brother's death or something." Her grin taking on a more devious edge, the girl added, "Just don't tell my dad I gave that to you, okay? We're supposed to let you pick your jobs randomly." Sam grinned back at her knowingly. "Sarah can say she never really liked her brother."

"You have my vow of silence, cuz!" she laughed, high-fiving her cousin as Paulina exited her room wearing a frilly pink and white gown and bone white button up boots, Star at her heels in a very similar dress, only in green, with the same shoes.

"Our vow of silence." Sarah whispered.

"Like this dress is so the wrong shade for me!" Paulina complained loudly, smoothing out the skirt of her dress. Sam snorted disdainfully and Jane shot her a wry grin.

"Well," The redhead sighed dramatically. "duty calls!" Sam chuckled and waved her cousin off as the girl approached her classmates with a brown ten gallon hat filled with slips of paper like the one she'd given Sam. Shaking her head, Sam turned to look out the window as Jane explained things to the two girls, looking back only at Paulina's shrill scream of pure rage…

"What do you mean I'm the Goth Freak's servant?"

"That means she's my servant, too." Sarah pointed out loudly enough for Paulina to hear.

"Sam?" Danny approached his best friend warily, unsure if he liked the evil grin the goth had on her face. "Please don't tell me they were dumb enough to stick you as the town executioner or some equally gory job…" Sam rolled her eyes at that, hitting Danny playfully across the shoulder.

"Ha-ha." She grouched dryly, her grin growing slightly. "And no, that's not what I'm happy about… though now that you mention it that would be a really cool job…"

"Oh?" Before Danny could say any more then that, though, a very irritated Paulina stormed over, glowering at Sam hatefully.

"Let's get one thing straight, loser!" She spat out at the goth, "If you even think about taking advantage of this whole servant thing, I'll make the rest of your pitiful high school existence the worst four years of your life!"

"Too late." Sam said dryly. Paulina merely scoffed and walked away, flipping her hair as she went. Danny stared at her retreating form for a minute in shock before he turned back to Sam.

"Do I even want to know?" he asked, only half serious with the question.

"I'll tell you later." The goth responded flippantly. "Come on, we've gotta get into the inn to start the tour of the town. Danny laughed as Sam dragged him into the old building, her skirts lifted so she could walk a little easier, Sarah following and copying.

"This does make it a heck of a lot easier to walk in." she observed.

"Wow, Sam," the ghost boy teased lightly. "you're really getting into this stuff!" Sam laughed and shot her friend a playful grin.

"Yeah, well— OOF!" grunting in pain, Sam twisted around to glare back at the scowling boy she'd bumped in to.

"Watch it!" Dash barked at her, his blue eyes flashing angrily.

"Lay off, Dash." Danny frowned at the larger boy, tensing in preparation to defend his friend. "It was an accident." Dash turned to sneer right back at Danny, clearly not ready to forgive him for the embarrassment Jane had caused him just yet.

"Yeah, yeah…" the quarterback snapped. "And watch your back, Fenton! You get in my way again, and I'll show you what a real gunslinger is made of!" Danny blinked as the blonde stormed out of sight, turning to Sam with a bewildered look on his face.

"How would he know?" The half ghost asked Sam, sounding confused and a little wary. Sam just rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Ah, forget him." She said, turning back to Danny. "Let's just… just…" Danny frowned in concern as his friend paled to a shade that was whiter then half the ghost's he'd met.

"Sam?" He said, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder to steady her since she looked ready to faint (Something she'd deny vigorously later.)

"What's with her?" Paulina sneered, drawing everyone's attention to the pair. Concerned, Danny looked over to see what had captured his friend's attention.

And went deathly still when he realized what it was.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard someone gasp as the rest of the class realized what the two of them were staring at, but he was too shell-shocked to fully acknowledge it, his eyes fixed on the framed black and white picture on the wall.

"Ohmigosh…!" Star whispered, looking from the photo to Danny and back again. "That's… Fenton, that's…" Since the popular girl was speechless for once in her life, it was up to Sam to finish her statement for her.

"Danny…" Sam croaked out in a stunned tone. "that's you." Danny didn't respond except to blink in shock a few times before tearing his eyes off a face that was the mirror image of his own to glance at the nameplate below the picture, his face going even paler when he saw it.

Daniel 'Fast-Shootin'' Fenton


	2. Fast-shootin' Fenton!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walker: I am your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and if necessary your executioner.  
> Danny: You said executioner three times.  
> Walker: I like that part of the job.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Degree®, Victoria's Secret® or anything else with an ® or ™.
> 
> Fast-Shootin' Fenton!

"Please tell me this is someone's idea of a joke." Even as he looked around at his wide-eyed classmates, Danny knew the hope was futile. Unnerved, he turned back to the wall, studying the picture again.

Taking a closer look, he noticed that the boy in the photograph looked a little older then he was, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Other then that though, the resemblance was uncanny right down to the wide, easy grin on Daniel's face.

"I don't…" Sam said, looking between the picture and her best friend. "It's doesn't… How could… Why?"

Why indeed. Danny said wryly in his head, running a hand through his hair. Suddenly his nice, relaxing break for his chaotic life was going straight down the tubes…

"There you guys are!" trotting over, Jane stopped in front of the group, her eyebrow rising when she realized that everyone's attention was elsewhere. Turning, she gasped when she saw what the teens were staring at.

"Oh, wow…" She said, blinking as she looked between the picture and Danny. "I thought I knew you from somewhere… Guess I just didn't make the connection before because you were dressed differently…"

"Fast-Shootin' Fenton?" Sam read, shooting Jane a curious look.

"He was a gunslinger raised here in Harmony." Jane explained. "And he was good, too. Almost scary, what he could do with a gun… There's one story about this contest he and Buck— they was friends back then— got into when they were thirteen to see who the better shot was. Daniel won when he managed to hit a thimble in mid air from eighty paces away."

"If he was so good, why'd he stay in this dump?" Dash sneered, shooting Danny a pointed look.

"He didn't." Jane said. "Daniel disappeared right after the death of his fiancée."

"Come on, Jane." Henry chuckled as he joined the conversation, making a few kids jump. "You're getting ahead of yourself. That's no way to tell the tale of Fast Shootin' Fenton." Beside him, Mr. Lancer looked alarmed at that statement.

"I beg your pardon?" He said, looking over at Danny accusingly.

"I didn't do anything!" Danny defended himself immediately, a little irritated. Henry frowned between the two, apparently not making the connection right away. After a moment or two, though, he finally noticed the resemblance between the man in the black and white photo and the teen in front of him.

"Well I'll be…" He said with a low whistle. "I thought you looked familiar…"

"You never told me you had a famous relative, Danny." Sam said, her tone borderline accusing.

"I didn't know!" Danny defended himself at once. "Dad never said a word about it…"

"Which is weird, because normally it's hard to get him to shut up about stuff like that." Danny finished in his head. Frowning, he studied the man in the picture again, trying to shake off how unnerving it felt to look at a man who was so similar to him in appearance.

"Well, Fast-shootin' Fenton was a very mysterious character." Henry said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Very little is known about him… when he was born, who his parents were… Heck, for a long time no one

even knew it was him fightin' off the bandits and train robbers coming through Harmony. People just called him the Phantom Slinger…"

Henry paused here when Sam was suddenly overcome with a violent coughing fit, glancing at her in wary concern until she'd recovered. Danny, in the meantime, was white as a sheet, looking more then a little shaken.

"It's just a coincidence…" He reassured himself hastily, swallowing against a lump in his throat. " I mean, Phantom's a really common nickname, it's not like I have it trademarked or anything…" Though Tucker was definitely working on that.

"Anyways." Henry continued after Sam had reassured everyone she was fine. "Fenton wasn't what you'd call popular growing up, and only had two known friends. One was Buck Jones, who would grow up to be Black-eye Buck, and the other was the daughter of the Saloon manager, and an ancestor of my and Jane's— and Sammy here, for that matter— Gwendolyn Viper. Those two were the only ones he confided with his secret double life."

Here, Henry pointed to a second picture hanging on the wall, of Daniel Fenton and two

other people, all in their early teens. One was a larger boy, built very burly with a sun worn face and a wide grin. He was dressed simply, obviously a farmer or something of the sorts, and had a fishing pole in his hands. The other was a girl, her long black hair

pulled back in a low ponytail, save for the strands framing her face. Freckles spotted her tanned face, and she smiled into the camera with a confidence that belied her simple, dusty dress.

More frightening, though, was the fact that only a few details kept the girl from looking nearly identical to Sam, who drew in a sharp breath when she saw this.

"Danny…" the goth hissed, casting the boy a worried look.

"It's just a coincidence!" Danny insisted under his breath curtly, giving her a look that dared her to challenge that statement. Sam rolled her eyes, but let the subject drop.

"When Fenton was in his late teens, he was exposed as the Phantom Shooter and

forced into the media spotlight. Things got really nasty after that, and Fenton even

considered skipping town and starting over somewhere else, but then the Gold Family moved into town in May of 1881."

Danny grimaced when Henry motioned to yet another picture before glancing at it

warily. Luckily, none of the people in it resembled anyone he knew. Still, his eyes were immediately drawn to the girl in the picture, who was a little older than him.

She looked delicate and refined, a true model of what a girl was supposed to be in

that era, dainty and polite. An expensive-looking dress (Much like the one Sam was currently wearing) adorned her, and her fair colored hair (Danny couldn't tell for sure,

but guess she was a redhead.) curled loosely around her face, framing it perfectly.

"Pretty." Danny observed, earning a grin from Henry.

"Fenton thought so too, apparently." He confided to the group. "That's Lunette Gold,

Lord Richard Gold's sole child and heiress to the Gold family fortune. When she and

Fenton met, they were immediately drawn to one another, and it wasn't long before they fell in love. Finally, in October of 1889, the two announced their official

engagement."

"I'm guessing they didn't live happily ever after…" Danny said, remembering Jane's earlier comment.

"You guess right." Henry said with a grim smile. "You see, Fenton and Buck got into a

big fight not long after Lunette's arrival. We're still not completely sure what it was about, but the two childhood friends became bitter enemies from that day on. So when

Buck heard about Lunette and Fenton getting hitched, he just about snapped.

Apparently, he kidnapped Lunette and killed her in cold blood, hiding her body where no one could find it. Fenton went ballistic when he heard, and ended up confronting

Buck about it. It turned into a gunfight, and Buck was shot dead in the streets. After

that, Fenton disappeared, and no one's seen or heard anything of him since." People

shot Danny curious looks here, and the blue eyed boy blushed at being put on the spot.

"I've never heard anything about any of this before." He said apologetically. "I mean,

Dad's told me millions of stories about my grandfather and great-grandfather, but he's never said a word about a Fast-shootin' Fenton…"

"I'm sure it's all just a coincidence." Sam intervened. "Anyways, we should probably get started with that tour now, right?"

"I guess…" Jane said, shooting her cousin a curious look. "Alright then, if you'll all

follow me…" Danny paid no heed to his classmates or little sister as they followed Jane and Henry out of the room, his eyes fixed on the face of his supposed ancestor with a

small frown tugging at his lips.

"Events shall go full circle until the end is rectified…"

"Danny?" Jumping, Danny wheeled around to meet concerned violet eyes. Grimacing,

Danny dismissed the strange words and sighed before he turned his attention to the unasked question in Sam's worried glance.

"I'm fine." He assured her with a forced smile. "Come on, we'd better catch up with the group." Looking a little troubled, Sam followed her friend as he started towards the rest of their class.

"Fine my butt." She scoffed in her head. Sighing, she silently wished that Danny would

just drop his pride every once in a while and admit when he was worried about something… "I'll talk to him later, when he's not so defensive. Maybe then he'll tell me

what's wrong." Satisfied with this decision, Sam pretended to concentrate on the artifacts around her as her cousin rambled on about them, not taking in a word of it,

not even when Sarah asked "Mr. Viper, what do you know about the town's banker?"

Danny, in the meantime, was trying to shake off the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck.

"Get a hold of yourself, Fenton." He scolded mentally. "Who would be spying on you

anyways? You're miles away from any ghosts"… smiling slightly, Danny shook his groundless worries away, determined to enjoy every minute of this rare break he'd been offered…

"Do we really have to do this?"

Henry chuckled a little at Danny's question, taking in the boy's pasty complexion and

sudden case of the shakes. Grinning, the man clasped Danny's shoulder, making the smaller boy buckle at the knees.

"Relax kid." He reassured him. "It's like I told Lancer earlier, these guns and bullets

are fake. You don't have anything to worry about, trust me. Just remember to wait for the bell, and hope you hit." Somehow, Danny found that difficult to do with Dash

grinning down at him in the same predatory fashion of a cat that had just cornered a wounded mouse.

After a long winded tour about the Old West, followed by a quick dinner (this was

mildly entertaining in Sam's tirade against the lack of vegetarian entrees, which Sarah

defended by saying that most likely no one in the wild west was a vegetarian) Henry

had suggested they wrap the evening up with a standoff between the two elected

gunslingers before they hit the hay for the night, which the class was more than eager to see.

Which had led to Danny and Dash standing twenty paces from one another in the middle of town, the rest of the class hovering in the nearby buildings.

Danny's heart hammered as he swallowed to keep the pork and beans he'd just

gotten done eating from coming back up, one hand clutching his firearm nervously as

he tugged at his collar with the other, wondering blankly why it was so hard to breathe.

"It's not like I haven't had a gun pointed at me before." He reminded himself. "And those

were guns that could actually hurt me, too." Still, those were ecto-guns, and he was in

his ghost form. Not facing down one of the nastiest bullies in his school as geeky,

clumsy Danny Fenton. Dash, by the way, was a fan of Phantom, despite making a sport out of giving wedgies to Fenton.

Theses were the times when Danny really hated his life…

Before Danny could mull this over any further, a bell sounded to begin the match, and

Dash wasted no time drawing his gun and taking a shot at Danny. Acting on instincts

of one who has spent a year of being shot at by friends, parents and assorted ghost

hunters, Danny dodged to the left before he realized that Dash's aim had been off anyways.

Dash shot again, but Danny kept moving around sporadically to make himself an even more difficult target, yet another trick being hunted had taught him. Still, most of the

spectators didn't see it as anything more than geeky Danny Fenton running around

like a total coward. A few students even started snickering amongst themselves at how ridiculous the boy looked.

Only Henry, who'd seen these kinds of fights a million times over, realized that Danny's movements were too purposeful for him to be panicking.

"Your friend is one weird kid…" Henry muttered to Sam softly as he watched Danny,

not seeing his niece's flinch. "Has he ever done anything like this before?"

"Come on, Uncle Henry." She said, faking a laugh. "How many high school kids spend

their spare time getting shot at?" Henry frown at this, but didn't respond, and his attention was drawn back to the streets below when Dash decided to taunt Danny verbally.

"What's the matter, Fenton?" The jock sneered, obviously getting his kicks out of the

situation. "Too scared to do anything but run around like a loser?" Danny stiffened at the word 'loser,' his hand going for his gun before he even had time to stop and think

about it.

He drew the weapon and took fire in one quick, fluid movement, and the next thing anyone knew Dash had fallen to a sitting position in the dirt, a vivid red mark in his abdomen and a stunned look on his face. And with the exception of a smirking Sam, the rest of the class seemed just as shocked as he did.

"Looks like you're the loser this time, Dash." Danny snapped, glaring at the boy before turning and starting away. Hitching up her skirts, Sam ran to catch up with him.

"That was awesome!" She said gleefully when she was matching Danny's strides. "Jeeze Danny, why didn't you tell me quick draw was genetic?" Any further teasing

remarks disappeared when Sam took in the look on Danny's face. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine." He sighed, not wanting to talk about how much Dash's remark had upset him. Sam seemed to accept this, however reluctantly.

"Well, now that the match is over I guess it's time for bed." She reminded the boy,

making a face. "Meaning I've got to put up with Paulina as my roommate until morning. That's sure to be fun…" Danny's sour mood disappeared at the thought of the

entertainment Sam's living arrangements would bring for him.

"Oh come on, Sam." He laughed. "It probably won't be that bad. Sarah's rooming with

you, too. I'm sure she can keep you two from killing each other." Sam scowled at him before she smiled mischievously.

"Well…" She sang out. "I guess it won't be as bad as you and your roomie." Danny

stopped short, blinking at that, looking confused before glaring at her warily. Sarah went ahead.

"What about my roommate?" He asked suspiciously.

"Didn't you hear?" Sam asked innocently. "You and Dash are sharing a room. And

considering how mad he probably is at you right now, it's a good thing this whole ghost mess made you a light sleeper." Danny groaned to himself as Sam pranced

ahead to join up with the group as they headed to the inn (Not skipped, though. Goths never skipped, after all.)

"Why me…?" Danny wondered woefully as he reluctantly headed in for the night. This vacation was starting to look bleaker and bleaker by the minute…

She sighed in irritation as these new invaders continued decimating her town,

disturbing her chances for a peaceful afterlife. Her lips thinning, the girl glared out the window of her room sourly at the group below before her eyes were drawn to a boy

straggling behind the others and she gasped loudly.

"It can't be…" She thought, rising to her feet and pressing a semi-transparent porcelain-colored hand against the glass. "It's impossible… it's been over a hundred years…"

But there he was, clear as day walking along in the same easy stride she remembered so well, identical to the man she'd loved so long ago…

"…Daniel…?"

"But who is that girl he's paying so much attention to?" she wondered out loud.

"And if Daniel's back, does that mean Buck is, too?"

There was one way to find out- and that was to fly down and kidnap the girl, to

interrogate her. She grasped her black skirt and started to pace the floor, her bone

white button-up high-heeled boots thumping with each step. She didn't care now if anyone heard her.

Sarah, Sam, and Paulina were in their room, getting ready for bed. Sarah hung her

dress and petticoats on the hanger that had been provided. The initials were SJB. It fit her perfectly. She had asked-and been told-that the town's banker's name had been

George Burnett and that his only child had been a daughter named Sarah Jane. She

remembered that her mother's family name had been Burnett in the 1800's, before her Grandfather Burkett's ancestor had met and married his wife's ancestor. She

decided the size and names were a coincidence, like Danny had decided. She stole a

glance at the initials attached to Sam's dress. GJV. She grinned, thinking it was for Gwendolyn Viper. If it was, it was just a coincidence. This trip was full of coincidences.

"Good thing we got our toiletries back after dinner, although showers seem really out of place here."

"What about underwear?" Paulina asked. "There is no way I'm going abandon my

Victoria's Secret underwear."

"Oh quit whining. Mr. Viper will probably have them in Ziploc ® bags in the morning."

Sarah said, slipping on her gown. There was a knock at the door. Sarah answered.

"Hey, Jane."

"Hey, Sarah." Sarah had introduced herself to Jane when they were dressing.

"Dad says you guys can come and get one pair of underwear for tonight."

Sarah turned and announced that to Sam and Paulina. Paulina ran out, knocking Sarah

to the ground. Sarah got up and followed her. She turned back around-she was still

within ear shot-and asked Jane "May we get a stuffed animal and my NightGuard®?"

"Do you need them?"

"Yes. I need something to squeeze while I sleep and I grind my teeth while I sleep."

"Okay. And you might want to grab a flashlight, in case you need to make a trip during the night."

"Good idea." Sarah turned and went to the saloon to get her underwear. She went in just as Danny was coming out with his. "This trip is full of coincidences", she told him.

"The initials on your dress were SJ?" He asked.

"SJB. I asked-and was told-that the banker's name had been George Burnett. Remember

Mom's family name had been Burnett in the 1800's, before Granddad Burkett's ancestor met and married his wife's ancestor?"

"Now I remember. Mom and Dad decided to teach us about our heritage."

"All at once." Not the entire history all at once, Danny, Jazz, and Sarah all at once.

They had had charts and everything. They had made a game out of it later. The kids

had had to put the names in the right place on the chart, with the names on index

cards with tape on the back, but the names blacked out on the charts. They got a piece of candy for every name they got right.

"We had such sugar rushes after we got ALL of them right."

Sarah laughed as she grabbed her underwear out of her bag. She grabbed her Night Guard™, flashlight, and bear, too. Henry stopped her.

"It's okay. I told Jane I grind my teeth at night, I need to squeeze something while I sleep, and she suggested the flashlight in case I need to go to the toilet tonight."

"Want to take an extra pair of underwear in case you get scared?" Henry asked.

"Now you're just being condescending."

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be accusing people of being condescending, Ms. Fenton."

"Yes, sir. But you have to admit, he was being condescending."

"True. Ms. Fenton has grown up in a house with two ghost hunters, Mr. Viper. Amity

Park is an epicenter of ghostly activity, as well. Run off to bed, people. We'll be getting

a bright start tomorrow." Several more people had come to get their underwear and

flashlights and had stayed to listen out of curiosity. Sarah and the others went off to bed. With Lunette, in the old bank, she was pacing back and forth again. Sarah had

been distracted on the way to bed; she heard some loud thumping from the building in front of her. She looked up and shined her flashlight into the doorway.

"Is anyone there?" she called. She heard men laughing behind her, and heard them came up behind her. She turned around.


	3. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah plans to explore.

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

Mother Teresa

She turned around, and saw that it was Mr. Viper and Lancer.

"What's up, Sarah?" Mr. Viper called.

"Why aren't you in bed? I know I'm not your father, but I AM in charge of you." Lancer called.

"Yes, sir. But I thought I heard something in there." She pointed toward the bank.

"It's just the building settling." Mr. Lancer said. Sarah's ghost sense went off. "Danny, has your ghost sense gone off since we've been here?" She asked her half-brother through telepathy.

"See something?" Henry laughed.

"I've been working here since Jane was just a little girl and I haven't seen anything yet."

"I hope the story of Fast-Shooting Fenton doesn't have you seeing things." Lancer said.

"It's 'Fast-Shootin' Fenton', Mr. Lancer."

"He's an English teacher, Mr. Viper. Always trying to set a good example for us kids." Danny said, coming to check on Sarah.

"You said your ghost sense went off?"

"Yes. Right here. You don't think…..?"

"I am NOT the reincarnation of Fast-Shootin' Fenton, and Lunette is NOT going to come back and kidnap me or Sam to try to get any information out of her. Now, just go to sleep." Sarah was already in her nightgown from the 1800's. She had slipped her underwear on under it, before she had even heard the thumps that started all this.

"Isn't there a Western section of the Ghost Zone?"

"Why wouldn't there be? I mean, there is a middle ages section."

"So, all we have to do is…"

"No. We are NOT going into the Ghost Zone. I came here to get AWAY from ghosts."

"To a GHOST town? How ironic."

"Exactly what was said on the bus. Now come on."

"Are you two just going to stay there, or are you going to bed?" Mr. Lancer called.

"Yes, sir." Sarah tore herself from the bank, giving it one last glance.

"I'll be here all week. I can explore it on my own."


	4. Chapter 4

Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.  
Stephen King

Wild West Ghosts, chap. 4

Disclaimer: See earlier chapters

Sarah and Danny went to bed. Sam and Paulina sat up as Sarah came in, with her hand over her flashlight to dim it.

"Where have you been? It's not like you have a lot of underwear to choose from." Paulina demanded.

"Relax, Paulina. I heard something in the bank and stopped to listen." Sarah put her Night Guard™ in.

"Get Danny to check it out tomorrow." Sam said.

"He shaysh it'sh nothing."

Sam laughed. "Well, if Danny says it's nothing, it probably isn't."

Paulina mumbled something.

"No. Dash ishn't the shon of ghost huntersh." Sarah said, figuring Paulina had told her to get Dash to check it out.

"I said 'Go to sleep, freaks.'." Paulina clarified.

Sarah climbed into bed, said her prayers, and went to sleep. She didn't think to question why Paulina had asked her where she had been.

Lunette smirked as she realized that Danny had no idea that she was there. She realized that Sarah had heard her. She didn't care. She knew she didn't have to go into the Ghost Zone to find her Daniel Jonathan Fenton.

The next morning, Sarah was the first up, since she needed to pee. She went to the outhouses, then rinsed her Night Guard™ off, dried it, and went to put it in the case. She went back and slipped into the room. 

She slipped it back into the case, and undressed. She slipped her dress off of the hanger and grabbed her deodorant. She slipped onto the back porch, looked around, and-seeing no one- started to dress. She 

applied her deodorant and slipped her dress on. She had a little trouble with the eye-and-hooks, but she got all but the top two buttoned. She dusted off her feet, slipped back in, and slipped her hose on. She sat 

on her bed and was buttoning up her shoes when Sam and Paulina woke up.

"Hey, ladies. Who wants to help me explore the bank today?" she asked, although she knew Paulina didn't want to and Sam would try to talk her out of it.

"No way. If you want to be like your loser brother, that's your decision." Paulina said, getting out of bed and getting her clothes.

"You better not be thinking of asking me to help you, Goth freak." She told Sam.

"Why would I do that? Oh, yeah. You're our servant!" Paulina had already left.

"My ghost sense went off in front of the bank last night. I'm going to explore it today." Sarah said with finality.

"Your ghost sense went off? You know what that means."

"There's a ghost around. I want to find it and see what it wants or needs."

"But what if you end up being kidnapped?"

"Either Danny will save me or I'll take the ghost into the Ghost Zone and help him or her find what they're looking for."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"I think it is."

"Have you told Danny?"

"No. I'm not going to."

"Not going to tell him that your ghost sense went off?"

"I told him that last night. I'm not telling him about going into the bank."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to act so rashly."

"I can't always ask his opinion on my actions."

"True. You ARE growing up. But putting yourself in danger without thinking it through isn't a good idea."

"I HAVE thought it through. And this my decision, like Paulina said. And he doesn't always ask my opinion on his actions."

"True. But he is older."

"Like you said, I AM growing up. And like I said, I can't always ask his opinion. It might take too long."

"True. But you should at least ask your father."

"No time. I'm going right after breakfast." Sam sighed, she couldn't talk Sarah out of it and she knew it. Paulina came back in. Sam had gotten dressed while she and Sarah had been talking. Sarah went out to head 

to the saloon. Breakfast probably wouldn't be very quiet. She pulled the door open and went in. There were Mr. Lancer, Henry, Jane, Star, Mikey, Dash, and several other classmates of Danny's. Sarah swept over 

them to find Danny. He was no where to be found. She moved from in front of the door.

"Where are Ms. Manson and Ms. Sanchez?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"Still in the room. I actually haven't seen Paulina since she went to get dressed."

"Ah, here comes Ms. Manson." Lancer said as Sam pulled the door open.

"Where's Danny?" Sarah asked.

"Still asleep." Dash said with a smirk. Sarah left to go and check on Danny, or at least people thought she was going to go into their room. Paulina slipped in as Sarah went out.

"Danny? Dash says you're still asleep, but he said it with a smirk on his face."

"Relax, when he left, I pretended to be asleep, but as soon as he left, I got up."

"How'd you sleep last night?"

"Wonderfully. You?"

"Okay. I kept thinking of those thumps in the bank."

"Forget them. And forget about going in and exploring", Danny told her, realizing too late that he may have given her an idea. He came into view and ran up to her.

"Forget what I just said, too." He hissed.

Sarah fought to keep a smirk off her face.

"It's a good thing Tucker isn't here. He'd go crazy without technology for a week." She said as they went into the saloon together.

"Good morning, Mr. Fenton." Mr. Lancer said.

"Morning, everyone. " Danny and Sarah sat down next to each other. Everyone started fixing their plates. They had eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. ("Whole grain", Henry told them when Sam asked). When they had washed their breakfast down with orange juice, Sarah jumped up and ran off.

"Where is she off to in such a hurry?" Henry asked.

"Is everything all right, Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"She mentioned wanting to explore that old amontar." Paulina said, using the Spanish word for 'bank'.

"'Amontar'?" someone asked.

"Bank." Paulina explained.

"That's fine. I was going to let you all explore today, anyhow."

"Are you certain that's a good idea, Mr. Viper?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"What harm can there be? Besides, I always let the students explore on their own on the second day."

"I guess there isn't much trouble they can get into on their own." Mr. Lancer conceded, forgetting all about the snake from the day before.

"Poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak, skunks, snakes, dried out and brittle hair, dried skin, dirty shoes, blisters….." Star started rattling off any "dangers" she could think of.

"We have ointment, and I'm sure you brought hats and sun block." Henry said. Sarah ran back in. She had had to put her hat in her bag the day before.

"Excuse me, but where's my bag?" She asked.

"Right behind the counter."

"Thanks." Sarah ran behind the counter. They heard her moving other bags. Then they heard her unzip her bag and open the bag the sun block was in. They heard her squirt some into her hand and start applying 

it. Danny finished his breakfast and went back to help her.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yes, Mom." Sarah said sarcastically.

"Some one has to look after you."

"Yes. I also brushed my hair."

"Good girl." Danny took her hat off and put some sun block on her part.

"Just in case. You have a water bottle, right?"

Sarah put her sun block back in the Ziploc®, then slipped it back in her bag. She put it back where it had been after zipping it back up.

"Yes." She pulled it out.

"I'll go fill it for you." Danny stood up. They hadn't heard Henry come up.

"I'll fill it up." He offered. Danny handed over the bottle and Henry went to the kitchen to fill it up.

"Do NOT go into that bank. I mean it." Danny whispered.

"Stay out of the all of the buildings except this one."

"What about our dorm?" Sarah giggled.

Danny smacked her shoulder.

"I'm serious."

"Alright." Sarah conceded, although she knew she wouldn't listen.

She was going into that bank, and finding whoever it was who had set off her ghost sense. Henry came back and handed Sarah her water bottle.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Sarah left the building. Mr. Lancer called her back.

"Yes, sir?" She leaned back in.

"Stay out of the bank."

"Yes, sir. Danny's already told me to."

"Good. That goes for all of you. If you don't think one of the buildings will keep standing with you in it, don't bother going into it."

"Yes, sir." Everyone said.

Sarah went slowly toward the other side of the street, holding her water bottle. She slowly ambled toward the bank, having started at the tanners. Danny watched her.

"Ask Vlad if you should go into the bank."

"Okay." Sarah concentrated on her father.

"Father, you know the old Western town Danny and I went to?"

"Yes. How is everything going? It's a cosplay town, I know. What job did you get?"

"Banker's daughter. The initials on my dress are SJB. I asked and Mr. Viper-the owner- told me that the banker's name had been George Burnett. Remember Mom's family name had been Burnett in the 1800's, 

before Granddad Burkett's ancestor met and married his wife's ancestor? His daughter's name was Sarah Jessica, as well."

"Yes?"

"Well, last night my ghost sense went off in front of the bank and I heard something thumping. Danny doesn't want me to go in and explore, but Mr. Viper said we could explore the place if we want to. Should I go 

in? I'm going in anyway, but Danny wants me to ask you if I should."

"Like I can talk you out of it after you've made up your mind."

"Tell Danny I asked you, please."

"Of course."

"Daniel, Sarah has asked me if I think she should go into the old bank. She's made up her mind. I can not talk her out of it."

Danny sighed.

"I know. I guess I was just hoping that MAYBE she would decide to listen to her elders this once. Mr. Lancer told us to stay out of any buildings if we thought it wasn't strong enough to support us. But Sarah knows all she has to do is transform."

"Yes. We are less likely to cause property damage as ghosts. Unless, of course, we want to."

Sarah went straight to the bank. Danny was sure that if she was in there too long, Mr. Lancer would use the megaphone to call her. Sarah stood in the doorway as her ghost sense went off. She went further in so that she could transform without being seen. She went a little further and transformed. She flipped the switch and the place was flooded with light. She floated toward the stairs. She landed and started to climb.

"So far, I haven't found anything. My ghost sense went off again, but all that means is that there IS a ghost. How did Mom miss it?"

Danny contacted Vlad again.

"Is there anyway a ghost could hide?"

"Go intangible."

"I guess I walked straight into that. I mean, from the Fenton finder."

"I don't know. I guess they could go into the Ghost Zone while your mother was looking the place over, and then come back after she left, but that seems to be too much work. Has Sarah said she found anything?"

"No, but she DID say that her ghost sense went off again."

"Don't you think you should be helping her?"

"I'm exploring on my own right now. If she needs help, she can contact me. How are Tucker and Val doing? Is Tucker a pile in an ash tray yet?"

"Not that I know of. Of course I don't own an ashtray."

"Of course not." Danny cut off contact in case Sarah needed him.

Sarah had made it upstairs, and transformed back into Sarah Fenton.

"I used to live in Harmony. It was the perfect little town until Buck got jealous that Daniel and I were engaged, kidnapped and killed me. He buried me behind his own house." Sarah looked at the window. There was

a young lady a little older than Sam, wearing an exact copy of the dress Sam was wearing, red hair piled on her head in a bun. Sarah knew who she was.

"Lunette Gold." She whispered.

"Yes. And you must be Sarah Jessica Burnett."

"Fenton. My last name is Fenton. Sarah Jessica Burnett is dead and probably in the Ghost Zone. Which is where you should be. We can't bring Buck to justice, since he's dead by now, too. We can find your final 

resting place and mark it. Then you'll be able to rest in peace. Come to think of it, I could take you into the Ghost Zone and help you find your fiancée, if you want."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Daniel Joseph Fenton is here, now, and he and I will not be separated!"

"Danny, I found the ghost of Lunette Gold. I offered to take her into the Ghost Zone so that she could be with her fiancée, but she thinks you're him!"

"It's been over a hundred years! Reincarnation doesn't exist. There is no way Daniel James Fenton can be Daniel Joseph."

"Daniel Joseph never died. It was never reported. I've been around here since my death and…"

"He disappeared after your murder. Of course his death wasn't reported here."

Danny flew up the stairs in his ghost form.

"Daniel! At last! This little heathen has been trying to convince me that you're not Fast-Shootin' Fenton! I knew you would come back for me!" She ran toward Danny.

"I'm not Fast-Shootin' Fenton! Your fiancée hasn't been seen since after your murder."

"Oh, Daniel! There's no need to be coy. I know it's you!" She wrapped her arms around Danny.

"I'm telling you, lady! I'm not your fiancée! My name is Daniel James Fenton!"

"Let's take her into the Ghost Zone and show her." Sarah said.

"Good idea. You make the portal."

Sarah transformed and made the portal. She took Danny's arm and pulled him-and Lunette- into the Ghost Zone. They flew straight to Clockwork's tower.

"Clock work, we need your help." Sarah said, looking desperate.

"Yes, young phantom. I know of your dilemma. I will help you."

"Thank you so much, Clockwork." Danny said.

"But first, let's see…" Danny phased through Lunette's arms. She looked up, surprised.

"But Daniel, I thought we would be together forever."

"Wait here with them, Lunette. I'll be right back." Clockwork said, as he left.

"I still think you're my Daniel come back for me." Lunette said, stroking Danny's hair.

"Maybe her parents should have named her "Lunatic" instead of Lunette." Sarah told Danny through telepathy.

"What made you think I was Sarah Jessica? Oh, I was in human form."

"Who are you?" Lunette asked, confused.

"Sarah Jessica Fenton. I'm a halfa. So is Danny. If you had been in the Ghost Zone, you would have heard of us."

"But if I had been in the Ghost Zone, I never would have found my Daniel."

"Yes you would have." Sarah muttered under her breath.

Clockwork came back with Fast-Shootin' Fenton.

"Lunette! I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been? "

He flew over to Lunette and gathered her into his arms.

"I was in Harmony until these nice children brought me here to find you."

"Now she calls us nice," Sarah smirked.

"I thought I was a 'little heathen', Lunette." Sarah said.

"That's because I thought you were trying to trick me." Lunette explained.

"Well, this wasn't much of a vacation, but at least we helped two ghosts to reunite." Danny said, as Lunette and Daniel flew off together.

"Now aren't you glad we came to Harmony?" Sarah asked

"Yes. Speaking of which, we better get back before we have everyone looking for us."

They quickly created a portal and left. They were lucky and it went straight to the old bank in Harmony. They transformed back into Fentons. Sarah ran down the steps and out the door. She skidded to a stop, but 

she still bumped into Mr. Lancer, who grabbed her.

"Where have you been?! I went up there looking for you. Your father called wanting to speak to you. I suppose you're going to tell me that Danny's up there, too?" Danny came downstairs.

"We were talking up there. We saw you come up stairs, and got quiet to try and trick you."

"Well, I suppose I should have said, 'Ms. Fenton, your father wishes to speak to you.'. They have old fashioned phones in some of the buildings in case of emergency."

"Was it Vlad Masters?"

"Yes."

"Relax; he'll just drive here if it's real important."

"I suppose you're right." They were interrupted by the sound of a car.

"Wow. I suppose it was important." Vlad got out before Bernard stopped the car.

"There you are, Sarah."

"Yes, sir, Father." Sarah ran over to Vlad and hugged him.

"What did you find, Princess Badger?" Vlad asked through telepathy.

Tucker, Valerie, and Jazz jumped out of the limo. Jazz ran over to her brother.

"Any ghosts?" she whispered.

"I'll tell you when we're alone." They walked over, too.

"Mr. Lancer, I presume?"

"Yes, Mr. Mayor." Lancer shook Vlad's hand.

"Is there anywhere Sarah and I-"

"The bank!" Sarah suggested. "That's where it started!"

Sarah started leading her father back to the bank. "We won't need to go any where near those cages."

"I assume you mean where the tellers used to work."

"Yes, sir, but they look like cages. See?" Sarah pointed to the right. There they were.

"They do look like cages." Vlad whispered.

"Hey Danny? I might need your help. Tucker and Jazz might want to hear this, too." Val had gone straight into town. Danny turned to Tucker and Jazz.

"Do you two want to hear about what happened?"

"Yeah." Tucker and Jazz jumped at the chance. Danny led them into the bank and up the stairs.

Sarah stopped.

"I'm sure Sam would like to know, too."

"But where is she?"

"We could call her."

"She doesn't have her cell phone with her." Danny said.

"True. They don't allow technology here."

"We packed for the rest of the week, if they'll let us stay." Jazz said.

"They will. I asked Mr. Lancer over the phone when I called to get Sarah." Vlad said. Sarah transformed and flew out. She turned intangible and started looking for Sam. She found her with Jane.

"Vlad, Tucker, Jazz, and I are in the old bank. We're going to tell everyone about what happened." She whispered quietly.

"I need to go check on Danny. I haven't heard from him lately." Sam told Jane, turning to leave. Sarah flew off. She phased back into the bank and told everyone "Sam's coming."

"You told her?" Danny asked.

"I was intangible. I whispered very quietly."

"I hope you didn't scare anyone." Vlad said.

"Did you hear any screams?" Sam ran up the stairs as best she could in her dress.

"You guys haven't started, have you?"

"No. You're just in time." Tucker said.

"It was Lunette Gold." Danny started. Everyone sat down as best they could. Sarah and Sam squatted.

"She was absolutely convinced that Danny was her fiancée, come back for her."

"She wouldn't believe us until we took her into the Ghost Zone, and had Clockwork get the original Daniel Fenton to talk to her. And who better to get him than the Master of Time?" Sarah said.

"Start over at the beginning, you two. How did it start?" Jazz asked.

"We'd have to take you to the saloon first, for that part." Sarah said, getting up. Everyone else climbed to their feet and followed Sarah down stairs. Sarah led the way to the saloon. When they got there, everyone 

made their way to the back. There, they all looked at the pictures on the wall.

"First we have Daniel Joseph Fenton, aka 'Fast-Shootin' Fenton' aka 'the phantom slinger'."

Sam took over. "Very little is known about him… when he was born, who his parents were… Heck, for a long time no one even knew it was him fightin' off the bandits and train robbers coming through Harmony. 

People just called him the Phantom Slinger. He wasn't what you'd call popular growing up, and only had two known friends. One was Buck Jones, who would grow up to be Black-eye Buck, and the other was the daughter of the Saloon manager, and an ancestor of ours- me, Uncle Henry, and Jane, his daughter-Gwendolyn Viper. Those two were the only ones he confided with his secret double life."

"Like Danny." Jazz said.

"Except that with Danny, more than two people know about his double life." Sarah pointed out.

Danny pointed to a second picture hanging on the wall, of Daniel Fenton and two other people, all in their early teens. One was a larger boy, built very burly with a sun worn face and a wide grin. He was dressed 

simply, obviously a farmer or something of the sorts, and had a fishing pole in his hands. The other was a girl, her long black hair pulled back in a low ponytail, save for the strands framing her face. Freckles 

spotted her tanned face, and she smiled into the camera with a confidence that belied her simple, dusty dress.

"When Fenton was in his late teens, he was exposed as the Phantom Shooter and forced into the media spotlight. Things got really nasty after that, and Fenton even considered skipping town and starting over 

somewhere else, but then the Gold Family moved into town in May of 1881." Sam said  
Danny pointed to the picture of Lunette.

She looked delicate and refined, a true model of what a girl was supposed to be in that era, dainty and polite. An expensive-looking dress adorned her, and her fair colored hair curled loosely around her face, framing it perfectly.

"That's Lunette Gold, Lord Richard Gold's sole child and heiress to the Gold family fortune. When she and Fenton met, they were immediately drawn to one another, and it wasn't long before they fell in love. Finally,

in October of 1889, the two announced their official engagement. Fenton and Buck got into a big fight not long after Lunette's arrival. We're still not completely sure what it was about, but the two childhood friends became bitter enemies from that day on. So when Buck heard about Lunette and Fenton getting hitched, he just about snapped. Apparently, he kidnapped Lunette and killed her in cold blood, hiding her 

body where no one could find it. Fenton went ballistic when he heard, and ended up confronting Buck about it. It turned into a gunfight, and Buck was shot dead in the streets. After that, Fenton disappeared, and 

no one's seen or heard anything of him since." Sam had been paying a lot attention to the story, despite having looked like she hadn't been.

She led the way back to the bank. They looked around, checking to see that no one would over hear them. They thought they had seen most of the class out on the streets, but wanted to be sure.

"I was distracted on the way to bed; I heard some loud thumping from this very building, in this very room. This morning, I had breakfast and came up here. There was a young lady a little older than Sam, wearing 

an exact copy of the dress Sam was wearing, red hair piled on her head in a bun. I knew she was Lunette Gold. I had transformed back into Fenton, so she thought I was Sarah Jessica Burnett. Our clothes have the 

measurements and initials of the original owner. Mine are SJB, for Sarah Jessica Burnett. Danny's are DJF, for Daniel Joseph Fenton. We thought it was for Daniel James Fenton, but Lunette said his name was Daniel 

Joseph. She said that Buck had buried her behind his house."

"Sarah suggested that Lunette's parents should have named her 'Lunatic' instead of 'Lunette'." Danny said.

"She was crazy."

"Just a little."

"Who was Sarah Jessica Burnett?" Vlad asked.

"She was the banker's daughter. Mom's family's name was Burnett until her father's ancestor met and married his wife's ancestor." Danny explained.

"That's right. Mom and Dad taught all of us about that." Jazz said, remembering.

"Like we already told you, then we took her into the Ghost Zone, and had Clockwork get the original Daniel Fenton to talk to her. And who better to get him than the Master of Time?" Sarah said.

"And I had to miss all of it." Tucker said.


End file.
